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Updated Oct 16, 2026, 2:28 PM ET
Republican · 3 November 2026
Laurel Lee
U.S. Representative for Florida's 15th congressional district (since 2023)
Laurel Lee, a Republican former Florida secretary of state who has represented Florida's 15th congressional district in the U.S. House since 2023, seeks re-election in 2026 against Democrat Robert People, a retired U.S. Army veteran.
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- Born
- March 26, 1974
- Birthplace
- Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio
- Education
- University of Florida
University of Florida Levin College of Law (Juris Doctor)
Biography & Campaign Analysis
Background
Laurel Lee was born Laurel Frances Moore on March 26, 1974, at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio, the daughter of a U.S. Air Force officer who later attained the rank of major general and a public-school teacher.
She graduated from the University of Florida, where she was a member of Florida Blue Key and was inducted into the University of Florida Hall of Fame in 1999, and she earned her Juris Doctor from the University of Florida Levin College of Law.
She is married to Tom Lee, a former president of the Florida Senate, and they have three children.
Career
Laurel Lee began her legal career at Carlton Fields, specializing in antitrust and complex business litigation, and later served as an assistant federal public defender and as an assistant United States attorney in the Middle District of Florida.
Governor Rick Scott appointed her to the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit Court in Hillsborough County in 2013, and she was elected without opposition in 2014.
In January 2019, Governor Ron DeSantis appointed her Florida's 30th secretary of state, a post overseeing elections, corporate registrations and cultural affairs, from which she resigned on May 16, 2022, to run for Congress.
Lee won Florida's 15th congressional district in 2022, defeating Democrat Alan Cohn, and was sworn in on January 3, 2023. She was re-elected in 2024 over Democrat Pat Kemp. In the House she was the lead sponsor of the Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act, served in 2024 as an impeachment manager in the case against Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, and chairs the Subcommittee on Elections of the Committee on House Administration.
2026 race
Laurel Lee is the incumbent in Florida's 15th congressional district, having won re-election with 56.2% of the vote in 2024. She is the Republican nominee for 2026 after Hernando County commissioner Steve Champion withdrew from the primary. Her Democratic opponent is Robert People, a retired U.S. Army veteran and writer, who won his party's primary against retired CIA officer Chris Irizarry. The general election takes place on November 3, 2026.